Economics

Crossing Borders: Contaminated Feed and Food Dr. Scott Dee shares insights at the 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference on how he found out more about animal diseases spreading through feed and getting into swine operations. He pulls together the background info into a story that highlights the clues and data that lead him to dig deeper into the possibility that feed is the vector [video].

A Digital Revolution: Pork's People Driven Marketing Strategy Steve Lerch, Google, shares insights on how consumers search for information as it relates to food, health, and life. Mr. Lerch focuses on how people think about the protein market and what information is misinterpreted by consumers about protein. Mr. Lerch closes with updates on what trust means to consumers [video].

SwineCast 1041 Show Notes:

• In this episode of The Squeal, a team of experts addresses a topic of greatest concern to the collective industry mind, biosecurity. Sharing hands on techniques and implementation ideas are Dr. Joel Nerem (Pipestone Veterinary Services), Dr. Andrea Pitkin (PIC Health Assurance Veterinary Team), and Dr. Jess Wadell (PIC Health Assurance Veterinary Team).
• Biosecurity - It's something that just doesn't happen from 8:00 to 5:00, it has to be 24/7. It has to be on the weekends, it has to be on the holidays. It just has to be part of what people do every day, and it's often not convenient. The things that this episode talks about are going to prevent disease and are not convenient. That's why it has to be culture. It has to be just ingrained.

SwineCast 1040 Show Notes:

• In this episode of At The Meeting Honoring Dr. Bob Morrison, discussion continues on African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in China and Europe.
• Dr. Montserrat Torremorell, Dr. Tom Wetzell, and Dr. Gordon Spronk have an important conversation about the impact of ASF on the global swine industry, and what it could mean if it reaches the United States.
• The cohosts sit down with Dr. José Manuel Sánchez-Vizcaíno from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid to discuss the history of the disease and the work he and his team have done to combat ASF, such as developing laboratory tests to aid in diagnosis and control.
• "African swine fever is, in general, an underestimated disease that many people don’t understand," says Dr. Sánchez-Vizcaíno. "But one of the keys to fighting ASF is an early-detection system."